Trained as a developmental psychologist, Nikhit views himself as a youth advocate and prevention scientist. His broad research interest is in the psychosocial development of adolescents who grow up in situations of community violence, neighborhood poverty, and family chaos. Currently he is trying to understand the trajectories of resilient behavioral and academic adjustment during adolescence. This is coupled with qualitative work that attempts to understand how high-risk adolescents make meaning of the adverse life events they have experienced. Nikhit has worked with street children in India and Ghana, studied gangs in South Africa, and worked with youth vocational training programs in Jamaica and Bangladesh. Most recently, he has been collaborating with a multi-national NGO on the implementation of a large-scale youth development program in five African nations.